Cut the Pentagon's budget so local communities can flourish

The Pentagon budget is bankrupting this country, and U.S. warriors are wreaking havoc all over the Middle East ("Pentagon leaders caution Congress over budget cuts," Aug. 2).

The blow-back has been phenomenal. But instead of the GOP calling for major cuts in the military budget in order to fund a major rebuilding of the country's infrastructure, it is continuing its blatant attack on the poor.

If we did not have a Congress beholden to military contractors, the bloated military budget would be severely cut. Then the savings would be used in our communities to salvage the bridges, the roads, schools, recreation centers and other urban infrastructure.

In Baltimore, there seems to be a water main break every week. And this will continue, since the pipes are often 80 years old.

The unpopularity of Congress will continue until the troops are brought home, the military budget is slashed and the savings are used to rebuild our cities.

Fund our communities, so that an economic boom can flourish. That would be a win-win situation. As the troops come home, they will be able to find jobs in a green economy that includes the rebuilding of our cities.